Those of you who’ve been following the blog over this past week will be thoroughly familiar with what a Tuckerization character is by now. 😉

But for those of you who may be new here today, I’ll just briefly reiterate that it’s when the name of a real-life person is used for a character in a book—and as a wee tradition for The Wall Of Night series, whenever a book has been launched I’ve given away a Tuckerization to one commenter, for the next book in the series.

One of the conditions of the draw is always that:

“I reserve the right to adapt the winning name to best fit a fantasy character, e.g. “John the Miller” as opposed to “John Miller” “

So way back in 2012, the winner of the Tuckerization draw for Daughter of Blood was Cheryl Graham — and I have “fantasized” her name … 🙂

Like all those waiting for Daughter of Blood, Cheryl has had to be very patient, a wait she has borne with extremely good grace. However, today I would like to formally introduce you to her Tuckerization character.

Dear readers, please: –

USA

Meet Che’Ryl-g-Raham

“…The kick caught the boy’s rear a glancing blow, enough to send him sprawling along the wharf, stopping short of a pair of black-booted feet. Kalan, turning with the rest of the bystanders, saw the boy’s gaze lift from the boots to the hem of a long black tunic. A sword in a silver-worked scabbard was belted around slim hips; a hand in an embroidered gauntlet rested on its hilt. The newcomer’s face was framed by cables of twisted, shoulder-length black hair, and her expression was stern as she studied the urchin at her feet. She wore a mail corselet and steel breastplate over the black tunic, with the twelve-pointed star of a Sea House navigator worked into the bright metal. Slowly, the stern gaze traveled from Kalan, to Orth and his companions, then around the gathered watchers, before returning to the boy.

“Begone,” she told him, a single word in the Grayharbor dialect, and he was up and running as though released from a spell. No one turned to watch him go. Like Kalan, they were all looking at the navigator and her companions. The clerk from the shipping office stood close by her right hand, while two men and another woman were ranged at her back. The device on their breastplates was a pair of crossed swords rather than a star, and all three wore steel caps on their heads and carried crossbows. Sea House marines, Kalan supposed—but it was the figure to the first woman’s left who held his attention. The man was tall, with the same twisted hair as his companion, although his was mostly gray, framing a deeply weathered face. The breeze rippled the folds of his sea-green robe, the deep border a wave design in indigo and black. Power stirred, too, telling Kalan that he was in the presence of a Sea House weatherworker.

Orth’s attention had swung to the robed figure and now he growled, low in his throat, before spitting onto the dock. “Priest-kind! By the Oath that binds the Derai, you’ve no right to walk here.”

“The ship decides who quits its decks, no one else.” The navigator’s voice rang cold, and her eyes, dark as a storm at sea, held Orth’s glare. The wharf stilled, its quiet filled by the cry of seabirds and creak of the moored ships. Kelyr’s fingers closed on his comrade’s sword wrist, and Kalan wondered which imperative would win out: the giant warrior’s hatred of priest-kind, or the realization that the fastest way to travel north was on a Sea House ship.

The matter hung in the balance a moment longer before Orth growled again, but in defeat this time. Throwing off Kelyr’s hand, he turned on his heel and stalked away. Malar’s head swiveled, tracking Orth’s departure, before he tossed back the last of his ale and followed. The Sea woman’s gaze lingered on Kelyr and Tawrin, before considering Kalan. “Swords,” she said meditatively. “And Blood.” She inclined her head gravely. “Honor on you and both your Houses. I am Che’Ryl-g-Raham of the Sea House, navigator to the ship of the same name.”

"THE HEIR OF NIGHT by Helen Lowe is a richly told tale of strange magic, dark treachery and conflicting loyalties, set in a well realized world."--Robin Hobb

Thornspell

Jacket art by Antonio Javier Caparo

Thornspell is my first novel and is published by Knopf (Random House Children's Books, USA). It won the Sir Julius Vogel Award 2009 for Best Novel: Young Adult and was a Storylines Childrens' Literature Trust Notable Book 2009.